Understanding the trajectory or range of motion of a part of the anatomy can be very useful, both for sportspersons in training and recovering from injury, but also the elderly or those recovering from surgery including animals such as horses and dogs. Typically all of the low cost available measures of trajectory or range of motion are subjective and difficult to repeat or verify. However, veterinary surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, sports scientists, physiotherapists, care homes and general practitioners (GPs) would all greatly benefit from an objective measurement of some kind. Insurance companies and other professional organisations are also looking for ‘Evidence Based Outcomes’ where physical data is now required to prove the effectiveness of any treatment or surgery.
Methods currently being used in the art are very basic, often comprising a goniometer, a ruler or simply by done by sight. This makes the data currently available very crude and of poor accuracy and difficult to store and recall. In addition, the data is limited to motion in one dimension/direction, for example the data is limited to a measurement of the range of motion of a limb in flexion and extension. This makes the data difficult to understand usefully, as the range of motion of a limb, for example, may vary depending on the degree of motion in another dimension/direction. There is therefore a requirement for simple, cost effective analysis of complex goniometry.
With the increasing use of health insurance to cover physiotherapy and the number of sporting injuries rising, it is clear that better methods need to be found to assess the status of a patient, especially with the requirement for evidenced based outcomes.